Thread winder



H- G. MASON THREAD WINDER April 18, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 3,1959 A TTORNE Y6 April 18, 1961 H. G. MASON 2,930,354

THREAD WINDER Filed Marh 3, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. Harv/son 6Mason BY ,17,; ALA-4+4; 06 4 ATTORNEYS THREAD WINDER Harrison G. Mason,Winnebago, Ill., assignor to lfarber- Colman Company, Rockford, 111., acorporation of Illinois Filed Mar. 3, 1959, Ser. No. 796,969

3 Claims. (Cl. 242-18) This invention relates to the winding of a threadon a sleeve of the type which permits subsequent immersion of the sleeveand thread package in. a dye solution for coloring the thread massuniformly. Such dye sleeves are usually formed of sheet metal andapertured intermediate their ends to facilitate the flow of the dyesolution under pressure to the interior of the thread mass, opposite endportions of thesleeve being imperforate and relatively smooth.

The primary object of the present invention is to contour the externalsurface of the sleeve in a novel manner so as to prevent objectionableinward slipping of the thread along the end portions of the sleeve bythe action of the traversing member even when the sleeve is made frompolished stainless steel.

A more detailed object is to avoid such objectionable slipping of thethread by the use of a single groove disposed adjacent the sleeve endsand having inner side walls of suflicient depth and inclination to catchthe turns of the initially laid on layer of thread and so limit theinward shifting of these turns as to avoid objectionable deformation ofthe final thread mass.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent fromthe following detailed description taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a schematic perspective viewof the elements of a winding machine embodying the novel features of thepresent invention.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the improved dye sleeve.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view of the dye sleeve having a threadmass partially formed thereon.

Figs. 4 and 5 are views similar to Fig. 3 illustrating the distributionof the thread along the dye sleeve in the initial stages of the winding.

In the drawings, the invention is incorporated in a conventional machinefor unwinding a thread from a bobbin 11 or other supply package andwinding the thread in successive layers onto a sleeve 12 to form alarger package such as a cheese 13. The sleeve is telescoped detachablyonto a core 14 which in turn is freely rotatable on spindle 15projecting laterally from a plvoted arm 16 which permits the core andsleeve to rest on the top of a drum 17 power rotated about an axisparalleling the axes of the core 14 and the arm 16.

After passing through a stationary guide 18, the thread is received inan endless helical groove 19 formed in the drum and operating totraverse the thread back and forth along the rotating drum 17 todistribute the thread of the successive layers uniformly along thesleeve. The axial length of the groove determines the range a of thetraverse and therefore the length of the finished cheese To facilitatesubsequent distribution of the solution for dying the thread of thecheese thus formed, the intermediate portion of the sleeve 12 iscorrugated by a plurality of ribs 20 and intervening grooves 21paralleling and closely spaced around the sleeve axis. Apertures 21 inthe bottoms of the grooves permit the free flow of the dye solution tothe interior of the cheese. Such flow is stopped short of the ends ofthe cheese by spacing the outer ends ofthe sleeve slots 21 inwardly fromthe limits of the range a through which the thread is traversed back andforth during the winding of the cheese. For this purpose, the outer endportions 22 of the sleeve 12 are left uninterrupted and preferablysmooth and cylindrical with a diameter substantially equal to theintermediate or ribbed portion of the sleeve. The range a of the threadtraverse usually overlaps the imperforate areas 22 by about one fourthof an inch. These areas terminate in curls 23 at the ends of the sleeve.

In accordance with the present invention, the areas 22 of the stainlesssteel preferably used are left smooth and preferably electroplated alongwith the remainder of the sleeve and means capable of being formedeasily in a metal working operation is provided for limiting the inwardslipping of the first layers of the thread so as to insure adistribution of the thread of such layers along the sleeve withsuflicient uniformity to form a cheese of the desired compactness, toavoid the leaving of burrs on the sleeve surface, and to permiteflicient distribution of the dye solution.

This means comprises outwardly opening peripheral grooves 24 formed inthe sleeve at the junctions of the ribs 20 and the areas 22 and havinginner sidewalls 25 forming outwardly facing abutments which are inclinedrelative to the axis of the sleeve at an angle sufliciently large toprevent the initially laid on turns of thread from sliding inwardly pastthe grooves during the back and forth traversing of the thread.

In the present instance, the side walls 25 are formed by the outer endsof the ribs 20 on the sleeve and are disposed substantiallyperpendicular to the axis of the sleeve. The outer walls of the grooveare of lesser slope being inclined at about 45 degrees in the presentinstance relative to the sleeve axis. A groove of this shape may beformed conveniently to the desired depth, preferably about li of aninch, by conventional metal working operations and without leaving burrsor edges of objectionable sharpness.

In the use of a sleeve of the above character to form the cheese 13, afew turns of the thread drawn from the bobbin are wrapped around thesleeve and then the sleeve is lowered onto the drum to initiate thewinding. Although the turns of the first layer thus wound are laid ontothe sleeve uniformly along the length of the latter, those turns whichare disposed outwardly beyond the grooves 24 are urged inwardly as anincident to the thread traversing motion and these turns actually slidealong the smooth end areas 22 and into the grooves 24. In and adjacentthe latter, these turns lie side by side (see Fig. 4) because theirendwise sliding is limited effectually by virtue of the abruptness ofthe shoulders 25. At the same time, the turns laid onto the intermediate or slotted portion of the sleeve in the first traversing motionremained separated from each other as shown in Fig. 4. Thus, in thesucceeding traversing motions, the turns of thread laid onto the endportions 22 of the sleeve quickly fill out the remaining exposed areasof these portions, as shown in Fig. 5, and thus form in themselves asurface which is sufficiently rough to prevent end sliding of thesubsequently laid on turns.

By thus limiting the inward sliding of the thread layers initially laidonto the sleeve, the partially formed cheese remains of substantiallyuniform thickness and is extended quickly to a length equal to the rangea of the traversing motion. The completed cheese thus possesses thedesired shape and compactness and is adapted for sufiicient distributionof the dye solution.

" I claim as my invention:

1; In a' thread winder, .the combination of a rotary spindle, agenerally cylindrical sleeve constituting a 'cheese core detachablyreceived on said, spindle, .said

sleeve having longitudinally extending slots therethrough side wallsoflsaid grooves being disposed'in planes substantially perpendicular tothe axis of said sleeve, means i for rotating said sleeve to wind threadthereon While traversing the thread back and forth along the sleevethrough a 'range slightly greater than the axial spacing of saidgrooves, said inner Walls of said grooves constituting stops forengaging the convolutions of said thread initially laid on saidsleeveand'limiting the sliding of such convolutions inwardly past thegrooves.

2. For use in combination with a winder having a winding drumand meansfor traversing a thread back and forth through a predetermined rangecorresponding to the length of a mass to be formed, a sleeve on whichsaid thread is to be Wound during engagement with said drum, meanssupporting said sleeve and the thread wound thereon in drivingengagement with said drum, said sleeve being longer than saidthread-traversing range and having 'angularly spaced slots therethroughextending over a length of the sleeve shorter than said range, and twooutwardly opening peripheral grooves formed in said sleeve and disposedat and in communication'with the ends of said slots but within saidrange, each of said 7 grooves being of generally V-shaped cross-sectionand having inner walls inclined at sufficient angles to prevent theturns of thread initially laid on the outer-ends of the sleeve fromsliding inwardly along the sleeve past said grooves. V

3. For use in combinationwith a" winder having a winding drum and-meansfor traversing a thread back and forth through a predetermined rangecorresponding to the length of a mass to beformed, a sleeve onrwhichsaid thread is to be wound during engagement with said drum, meanssupporting said sleeve and the thread wound thereon in drivingengagement with said drum, said sleeve being longer than saidthread-traversing range and having angularly spaced slots therethroughextending over a length of'the sleeve shorter than said range, and twooutwardly opening peripheral grooves formed in said sleeve and disposedat and in communication with the ends of said slots but within saidrange, each of said grooves being V-shaped with the inner wallthereofconed at a greater angle than the outer wall.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES'PATENTS' V a VBarthelemes Feb. 27; 1934 2,011,331 Wichmann Aug. 13, 1935 2,258,900 7Little cttal. Oct; 14, 1941 2,431,876 Mackie Dec. 2, 1947 2,550,086Rouge Apr 24,1951

' FOREIGN PATENTS p 69,149 ;Germany mea Nov. 29, 1891

